Dylan's Pals has been created to honour our magical son, Dylan Nicholas Goulding Barette
DYLAN'S PALS
Our firstborn, Dylan, was born at St. Thomas' Hospital on 18th November 2020 with vulnerabilities that no-one ever considered would be life-threatening. Dyl Pickles loved getting dressed up in his extensive sassy wardrobe and being papped, snoozing on his Dad's chest, storytime with over the top facial expressions and constantly playing with his toys - particularly Keith the Koala (which his Dad named) and Bunny.
From the moment Dylan was born, everyday he proved what an extraordinarily brave and tough little boy he was. During his 37 day stay on the Neonatal unit, he was continuously investigated by the neonatal and specialist teams. No-one could give him a diagnosis and we understood that we had to wait and see how he grew and developed. Despite being poked and prodded, he was the most chilled out little boy and adored all of his doctors and nurses workers who looked after him so lovingly.
Dylan has changed our lives forever; he is the biggest gift and miracle we could ever have hoped for. Devastatingly, he passed away in my arms on December 24th 2020. As his parents, we know our son is at peace now and lives safely in our hearts. There isn't a millisecond that goes by where we don't miss our little boy, we would do absolutely anything and everything to still have him with us today. Dylan is the strongest warrior we know and we are so proud to be able to call him our eldest child. He will live inside our hearts forever and is spreading his magic all over the universe.
All the money we raise will go towards pioneering neonatal medicine and ensuring all vulnerable babies at the Evelina have all the love and specialist medical care that they need. Our biggest hope is that his legacy will be life-changing for so many families, today, and in the future, as we help each and every one of Dylan's Pals.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to continuously fundraise lifesaving research into neonatal medicine and support ongoing neonatal projects for other vulnerable babies on the Neonatal Unit at the Evelina.
1 in 7 babies born in the UK each year are admitted onto neonatal units. The Evelina is the centre of excellence for neonatal research. Across all of their departments, they believe combining high-quality care with ongoing research is paramount to providing the best possible outcome for every single child.
The Evelina is such a special place to our family. During agonising times when we couldn't be with our son, we knew he was being so lovingly looked after. Everyone made us feel incredibly at ease during such a phenomenally beautiful yet terrifying time.
Our lifelong fundraising efforts will help and support vulnerable babies and their families today and in the future.
OUR CURRENT PROJECTS
Each year we will choose life-impacting projects to fundraise money for. At the end of the year we will publish where our fundraising efforts have gone to and how they supported Neonatal babies.
NICU REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
The purpose of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) redevelopment project is to take a family-led integrated care approach, to ensure that all admitted babies can spend as much time as possible with their parents.
NEONATAL MEDICIAL RESEARCH
Research is integrated across everything the Evelina does. It is home to world-class clinicians and specialist neonatal research nurses. Ongoing research projects are underway to work towards a future where vulnerable babies have an even better chance of flourishing.
